Double adjusting brakes used for cutter unreel or like

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a double adjusting brake device for use in a cutter unreel or the like in which brake shoes are forced against brake drum rotating with paper rolls by the action of lever to thereby brake the paper rolls, characterized by a pressing mechanism utilizing fluid pressure and an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the force transmitted from the pressing mechanism to the brake shoes, both pressing and adjusting mechanisms being provided in combination with the levers to thereby make adjustment of the braking force.

United States Patent [191 51 Oct. 28, 1975 1 DOUBLE ADJUSTING BRAKES USED FOR CUTTER UNREEL OR LIKE [76] Inventor: Tadao Ohi,No. 315,Miyashita,

Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan [22] Filed: May 22, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 472,148

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 12, 1973 Japan 48-140493 [52] US. Cl. 188/75; 242/75.4; 242/1562 [51] Int. Cl. F16D 49/16 [58] Field of Search 188/75, 76, 72.9;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1919 Wood et a]. 242/754 2,256,154 9/1941 Smaltz et aL 188/75 2,925,153 2/1960 Hodgson 188/75 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 337,094 9/1918 Germany .1 188/75 51,111 4/1966 Poland 188/75 Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Edward R. Kazenske Attorney, Agent, or FirmHill, Gross, Simpson, Van Santen, Steadman, Chiara & Simpson [5 7] ABSTRACT 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 Sheet 1 of4 3,915,264

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FIG.2

U.S. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 Sheet 3 of4 3,915,264

US. Patent 'Oct.28, 1975 Sheet4of4 3,915,264

FIG.4

Hill

DOUBLE ADJUSTING BRAKES USED FOR CUTTER UNREEL OR LIKE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a double adjusting brake device adapted for use in a cutter unreel or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In the conventional brake devices used in cutter unreels and the like, brake shoes are pressed against a brake drum rotating with paper rolls by the operation of levers, and such pressing force is furnished only by a fluid type pressing mechanism linked to said levers. Therefore, for giving different braking forces to the brakes adapted to the respective paper rolls and reducing such braking forces in conformity to decrease of diameter of the respective paper rolls with advance of paper feed so as to provide always proper tension to each paper roll, it was necessary to adjust several times separately and at a given time interval the respective pressure regulating valves through which pressurized fluid is supplied to the respective pressing mechanisms. Such adjusting operation was troublesome and timeconsuming, and also if such adjustment depends on the sixth sense of the operator, the amount of adjustment made in every adjusting operation could fluctuate widely, and hence it is hardly possible to maintain the set braking force ratio for the respective brakes constantly throughout the paper feeding operation. Thus, the conventional brake devices for cutter unreels or such were unsatisfactory in applications where time and labor saving, improvement of precision of cutting size and improvement of product yield are strongly demanded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes an improved brake device adapted for use in a cutter unreel or the like for braking each paper roll by pressing brake shoes by levers against a brake drum rotating with said paper roll, characterized in that a pressing mechanism utilizing fluid pressure and an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the force transmitted from said pressing mechanism to the brake shoes are provided in operative association with said levers to thereby make suitable adjustment of the braking force for each paper roll. This brake unit is provided for each of a plurality of paper rolls arranged in juxtaposed relation horizontally in two lines and pressurized fluid with a certain given pressure is supplied to each of the pressing mechanisms through common piping to push the levers so as to exert a regulated braking force to each brake shoe. In consideration of the arranged order of the paper rolls and difference in the amount of strain in the respective paper rolls, the pressing mechanisms are operated separately to adjust the force applied to the brake shoes from each pressing mechanism so as to give an optimal braking force to each of the paper rolls. As paper feed is practiced under such condition, the paper strip from any of the paper rolls is supplied to the cutter assembly always with optimum tension. Further, combined tension of the lapped paper strips supplied under this condition is checked constatly, and if the checked value of tension is reduced as the paper roll diameter decreases with advance of paper feed, the pressure regulating valve in the common piping is throttled accordingly to lower fluid pressure supplied to each pressing mechanism, so

that the braking force of each brake unit is changed evenly in proportion to reduction of the paper roll diameter, but the braking force ratio preset for the respective pressing mechanisms remains unchanged, thus allowing optimum tension to be given constantly to all of the paper rolls throughout the paper feeding operation. This realizes quick and perfectly automatic tension adjustment in the entire paper feeding process. Further, if the braking force given by each pressing mechanism is suitably adjusted by the associated adjusting mechanism to provide an optimum braking force ratio and fluid pressure supplied to the pressing mechanism is adjusted to control the braking force, the braking force ratio set at the start of paper feed can be maintained constant till the end of the paper feeding operation. Thus, all of the paper strips being fed are allowed to travel stably while maintaining optimum tension to realize enhancement of paper cutting precision by the cutter and marked improvement of quality of cut paper. Moreover, since there is produced no wrinkled paper, which may otherwise be formed due to improper tension, great improvement of yield is also attained.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is now described in detail by way of an embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the brake unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a partly modified brake unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of adjusting mechanism; and

FIG. 5 is a general diagrammatic view of a cutter unreel assembly adapted with the brake units according to the present invention.

In the drawings:

1 and 28: paper rolls, 2 and 29: brake drums,

3, 3 and 30, 30: brake levers,

6, 6 and 33, 33: brake shoes,

CL: cutter unreel assembly,

A: pressing mechanism,

B: adjusting mechanism.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 designates a paper roll which carries on its both sides the brake drums 2 so that said drums are rotatable in unison therewith. Disposed on both sides of each said brake drum 2 are a pair of brake levers 3, 3 which have their lower bent ends pivotted at 5 to a retainer member 4 while the upper ends thereof are pivottally secured to the respective brake shoes 6, 6 which are pressed against said brake drum 2. Intermediate each said lever 3 is engaged a box-like square hollow structure 7 held between the two lever portions through flanges a, and a square prism-like body 8 is secured by a pin 9 in the inside of each said box-like structure 7.

A clamping shaft 10 is passed through both square bodies 8, 8. On the portion of said shaft 10 extending out from one of said square bodies 8 ismounted a flexible cylinder 13 disposed airtightly between an end plate 11 fixed to said shaft 10 and another end plate 12 secured to said square body 8. Pressurized fluid is fed into said cylinder 13 from a fluid inlet hole 14 provided in the shaft 10 so as to press the square body 8. These means constitute a pressing mechanism A. The portion of said shaft on the opposite side is threaded at 15 along substantially half of the length of said portion, and a pair of adjusting nuts l6, 16 are threadedly engaged with said threaded portion so as to hold the square body 8 in position. The distance between the levers 3, 3 can be reduced through relative adjustment of said nuts in accordance with wear of the brake shoes 6, 6. Intermediate the shaft 10 is threadedly secured an adjusting nut 17, and a brake releasing spring 18 is disposed between said nut 17 and the square body 8 on the side of the pressing mechanism A. B, B designate adjusting mechanisms for adjusting the force applied to the respective brake shoes 6, 6 from the pressing mechanism A by changing the positions of the respective slidable square structures 7, 7. Each said adjusting mechanism B comprises a downwardly extending feed screw 19 to which is threadedly engaged a pin wheel nut 21 held by a fixed frame 20, said pin wheel nut 21 being turned by a pin wheel 27 mounted on a shaft 26 connected to a handle 22 through gears 24, 25 and a shaft 23 so that when said handle 22 is turned, said feed screw' 19 is urged to make corresponding turning motion to move the slidable square structure 7, which serves as better dynamic point of the associated lever 3, thereby to make adjustment of the force.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, reference numeral 28 designates a paper roll having mounted on its both sides the brake drums 29 rotatable with said paper roll. Disposed on both sides of each said brake drum 29 are a pair of brake levers 30, 30 which have their lower ends pivotted at 32, 32 to a retainer member 31. Intermediate each said brake lever 30 is provided a brake shoe 33 pressed against the brake drum 29. The upper end of each said brake lever 30 is secured to a square prism-like body 34 by a pin 35. A clamping shaft 36 is passed through the square bodies 34, 34 on both sides. At the portion of said shaft extending out from one of said square bodies 34 is formed a thread 37, and provided at this threaded portion is an operating block 39 held between a pair of adjusting nuts 38, 38. Along half of the portion on the opposite side of said shaft is formed a thread 40 with which are threadedly engaged a pair of adjusting nuts 41, 41 holding a square body 34 therebetween. The distance between the levers 30, 30 can be narrowed through relative adjustment of these adjusting screws in conformity to wear of the shoes 33, 33. Intermediate the shaft 36 is threadedly secured an adjusting nut 42, and a brake release spring 43 is interposed between said adjusting nut 42 and one of the square bodies 34. Numeral 44 indicates an operating lever which is pivotted at its upper end to the operating block 39 by a pin 45. Said operating lever 44 is also provided at its lower end with a cylindrical portion 46 through which a clamping shaft 47 is passed. An end of said shaft 47 is secured to a metal block 48 which is loosely mounted on a shaft 32 pivotted to the lower end of the lever 30. At the portion of said shaft 47 extending from the cylindrical portion 46 is airtightly mounted a flexible cylinder 51 disposed between an end plate 49 secured to said shaft 47 and another end plate 50 secured to the cylindrical portion 46. Pressurized fluid is fed into the inside of said flexible cylinder 51 from a fluid inlet hole 52 formed in said shaft 47 so as to press the cylindrical portion 46.'These means constitute a pressing mechanism A.

B designates an adjusting mechanism which moves between the operating lever 44 and brake lever 30 to change the position of fulcrum of the operating lever 44 to thereby adjust the force applied to the shoes 33, 33 from the pressing mechanism A. Said adjusting mechanism B comprises a slidable frame 53 in which is formed a triangular roll hole 54 having its apex on the side of the brake lever 30 and its bottom on the side of the operating lever 44, and in said hole 54 are disposed a fulcrum roll 55 contacting the brake lever 30 and two support rolls 56, 56 contacting said fulcrum roll 55 and operating lever 44, respectively. Fine teeth or knurls b are provided on the peripheral faces of said three rolls 55, 56, 56 and they are meshed with each other so that when said fulcrum roll 55 is turned by a square shaft 57, the slidable frame 53 is allowed to move freely to change the fulcrum position to thereby effect adjustment of force. Numeral 58 refers to a setscrew for fixing the slidable frame 53 at a desired location. Said setscrew 58 is passed through a washer 59 abutting against the outerside of the operating lever 44 and its end is screwed into a bearer 60 attached to the slidable frame 53 so that when it is fastened by turning the handle 61, said slidable frame 53 is fixed in position. When fixing the slidable frame 53 with said set-screw 58, it needs to effect tightening and loosening for each change of rate, but such trouble can be eliminated by substituting said set-screw 58 with a resistor (not shown) of which friction force is adjusted by a spring.

In FIG. 5, CL designates a cutter unreel assembly in which a plurality of paper rolls are arranged sidewise in two upper and lower lines, with said brake device (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) being provided to each of said paper rolls. The paper strips unreeled from the respective paper rolls 1, l in the upper and lower lines are fed into a cutter device (not shown in the drawing) through movable rolls 62, 62, which are biased with decrease of diameter of the paper rolls from which paper strips are unreeled, and a fixed roll 63. During this paper feed, the composite tension is detected by a detector 64 and the detected value is converted into an electric signal by a converter 65, said signal being relayed to an automatic pressure regulating valve 66 to throttle it so as to change pressure of fluid supplied into each pressing mechanism A through common piping 67 proportionally to the change of tension. The tension difference occurring among the respective paper rolls due to differences of their arranged order or strain is covered by adjusting the force applied to the brake shoes 33, 33 from each pressing mechanism A by operating the adjusting mechanism B. Thus, the braking force rate for the respective brake units is always maintained constant regardless of change of force given by the pressing mechanism A.

Action and Effect of the Invention:

In operation of the brake device of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when pressurized fluid is supplied into the flexible cylinder 13 in the pressing mechanism A from the fluid supply hole 14, the end plate 12 secured to the square body 8 is pushed inwardly while the end plate 11 secured to the clamp shaft 10 is pushed outwardly, so that both levers 3, 3 are moved inwardly, one being pushed by said square body and the other being pulled by the shaft 10, thus pressing the brake shoes 6, 6 against the brake drum 2 to exert a damping force to said brake drum 2. When the handle 22 is turned and its turning motion is transmitted to the pin wheels 27, 27 through gears 24, 25 to turn the pin wheel nuts 21, 21 meshed therewith, the feed screws l9, 19 in the respective adjusting mechanisms B, B are forced to move either upwardly or downwardly in accordance with the turning direction of the nuts 21, 21, causing corresponding upward or downward movement of the slidable structures 7, 7 which serve as dynamic points of the respective brake levers 3, 3 and corresponding increase or decrease of the distance between said structures and the associated shafts 5, 5 which serve fulcrums of the levers, thereby changing the leverage of the levers 3, 3. It is thus possible to optionally adjust the braking force by suitably changing said leverage.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when pressurized fluid is supplied into the flexible cylinder 51 in the pressing mechanism A from the fluid supply hole 52, the end plate 50 secured to the cylindrical portion 46 is forced inwardly by said fluid, causing the operating lever 44 to turn outwardly about the fulcrum roller 55, with the end of said lever pulling the clamping shaft 36, while the lever 30 is pushed by the fulcrum roller 55, so that both levers 30, 30 are moved inwardly toward each other to press the brake shoes 33, 33 against the brake drum 29 to exert a braking force to said drum. When the fulcrum roller 55 is turned by the pressing mechanism B, the teeth or knurls b of the rol ler 55 are meshed with those of the rollers 56, 56, causing movement of the mechanism between the levers 30 and 44 and corresponding increase or decrease of the distance between the fulcrum roller 55 and the cylindrical portion 46 serving as better dynamic point, thereby changing leverage of the lever 40, thus allowing optional adjustment of the braking force through suitable change of said leverage.

Therefore, if the brakes of the type for example shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are adapted in a cutter unreel assembly such as shown in FIG. 5 and a fluid with a certain set pressure is supplied to the pressing mechanisms A in the brake units for the respective paper rolls 28 through common piping 67, the brake shoes 33, 33 of the respective brake units are pressed against the associated brake drums 29 at equal force to exert uniform braking force to the respective paper rolls. However, the braking force required for a particular paper roll is differentiated from that for the other rolls accoriding to the arranged order of the rolls because a forwardly positioned paper roll receives jerking force of the rearwardly positioned roll or rolls and also because strain in each paper strip is different from that in the other paper strips. Therefore, in the present invention, the adjusting mechanisms B are operated by taking into account the above-said facts so as to suitably adjust the braking force given by the respective paper rolls, thus allowing always stable and constant paper feed. However, since each paper roll is gradually reduced in diameter as paper feed advancees it needs to correspondingly lower paper tension. In the present invention, combined tension of paper strips is detected by a detector 64 and the detection value is converted into an electric signal by a converter 65 to thereby throttle the automatic pressure regulating valve 66 to lower the fluid pressure supplied into the respective pressing mechanisms A proportionally to tension reduction, whereby the braking force can be changed proportionally to reduction of the paper roll diameter, thus allowing automatic prosecution of the operation for giving always optimum tension to paper. Further, since the braking force ratio for the respective paper rolls set by the corresponding adjusting mechanisms B remains unchanged, each paper strip is given optimum tension to travel smoothly and stably throughout the paper feeding operation. This allows precise paper cutting with almost no difference in vertical size in the cutter unit and also perfect prevention of wrinkled papers which may otherwise be produced due to too great or too low tension, and hence the product yield is markedly improved and also the non-conforming paper eliminating work is unnecessitated.

What is claimed is:

1. A double adjusting brake device for use in a cutter unreel having brake drums operatively associated with paper rolls comprising:

a pair of brake shoes adapted to contact diametrically opposed portions of a brake drum connected to a paper roll; pair of levers carrying said brake shoes and being pivotally mounted at one end to a retainer member and being connected at the other end to a shaft means of said brake device;

a third operating lever disposed adjacent one of said pair of levers and pivoted thereon; a roller fulcrum pivoting said third operating lever on one of said pair of levers; a fluid pressure mechanism connected to one end of said third operating lever for exerting a force on each of said brake shoes and said shaft means connecting the other end of said operating lever to the other of said pair of levers; and fulcrum adjusting mechanism for selectively positioning said fulcrum at different positions on said one of said pair of levers to change the length of the lever arm between said roller fulcrum and said fluid pressure mechanism and thereby adjust the pressure on said brake shoes.

2. The double adjusting brake device of claim 1 including a plurality of paper rolls and a common piping for supplying fluid pressure to said fluid pressure mechanism associated with each brake drum on the paper rolls. 

1. A double adjusting brake device for use in a cutter unreel having brake drums operatively associated with paper rolls comprising: a pair of brake shoes adapted to contact diametrically opposed portions of a brake drum connected to a paper roll; a pair of levers carrying said brake shoes and being pivotally mounted at one end to a retainer member and being connected at the other end to a shaft means of said brake device; a third operating lever disposed adjacent one of said pair of levers and pivoted thereon; a roller fulcrum pivoting said third operating lever on one of said pair of levers; a fluid pressure mechanism connected to one end of said third operating lever for exerting a force on each of said brake shoes and said shaft means connecting the other end of said operating lever to the other of said pair of levers; and a fulcrum adjusting mechanism for selectively positioning said fulcrum at different positions on said one of said pair of levers to change the length of the lever arm between said roller fulcrum and said fluid pressure mechanism anD thereby adjust the pressure on said brake shoes.
 2. The double adjusting brake device of claim 1 including a plurality of paper rolls and a common piping for supplying fluid pressure to said fluid pressure mechanism associated with each brake drum on the paper rolls. 